Pryer's inspiration came from the historic township up the Derwent River from Hobart, near Brighton.

"I used to live in Pontville surrounded by all the beautiful sandstone buildings.

"I would look over at the houses on the river with their neat little windows and central door and simple construction," she told ABC Radio Hobart.

"At the time I thought 'I can make one of those', it seems pretty straightforward.

"I didn't think it was that hard, but turns out it is," she said.

That was in 2017 and the doll's house now has four rooms, and a staircase, but it is far from finished.

Inside the walls

"If your house is a little colonial cottage and has been for sale in the past 10 years, I've probably looked up the floor plan, which is a bit creepy," Pryer said.

Down to the type of wood used for the tiny mantelpiece, and the construction of the mattress, Pryer has made perfect replicas — but exactly 12 times smaller.

"There are a lot of YouTube videos involved and I'm learning on a large scale,"

"Then I try and replicate that on a miniature scale."

The fireplace is made from Australian red cedar.

"It is hard to find now because it was so popular at the time that they used it all.

"Failing with red cedar would be a really heartbreaking moment," she said.

"There's a lot of details that no one will ever see, like the layers of mattresses in the bed that are now covered with a bed cover.

Family connections

When Pryer was thinking about making a doll's house version of the sandstone cottages, she believed it would have been the kind of house her ancestors would have lived in.

"When I started building the house, I thought I could put them in it, this could be their house," she said.

"I started out like everybody, hoping that there was an earl or a queen in there somewhere, but unfortunately it turns out that they were servants and convicts who came from the UK around 1850.

"When I started building, I added four rooms and a hallway and quickly found out that I'd already priced my ancestors out of my miniature colonial house.

"I felt a little bit bad for them, maybe they'll pop up as a servant in the house. Who knows?.

"In the dining room, I've got on the mantelpiece a little print of the convict ship that my ancestor came out on, it's been made to look very grand, but in reality, it's a convict ship."

"I thought that would be a nice subtle touch to add a reference to my ancestor in there somewhere."

Working with family

Pryer began building the doll's house in her dad's garage "With a lot of assistance from my engineering-minded father."

She has also gleaned a lot from her grandparents.

"My English grandparents, on Dad's side, used to build doll's houses and fill them with all these beautiful handmade objects.

"That was, I think, the burning inspiration to start making my own little objects and adding them to their collection as well.

Her maternal grandfather taught her how to turn wood.

"I didn't quite realize when I started how lovely it would be to learn that with him, and he's really excited about that as well," she said.

"He's been checking in on progress and approving of how things are going.

Stickler for detail

Pryer is also an award-winning portrait artist, known for her precise rendering of people in paint and it is obvious that detail and accuracy are important to her.

"I've always liked being intensely focused on a topic and learning as much about it as I can.

"I think I'm a chronic perfectionist, I love finicky detail."

"It started out as a very private project because I was worried about making mistakes," she said.

"But the more time I've put into it, the more I want to share some of these ideas and details with people

"It's a good way to learn about history, having to make everything by hand and sharing with other people.

Below | The front of the doll's house is made from real sandstone, replete with convict era etching.

More At |  instagram.com/hownottobuildadollshouse